kyle

HMM, I never really thought of that.

Do you think it would be possible to teach myself cello? I have been playing piano for about seven years and flute for about three so I can read both treble and bass clef. I really dont want to get a teacher, but I dont know if it would be too difficult to teach myself.

Marian,

Yes you could learn by yourself.

I`m having trouble getting in tune. I`ve tried with the piano and everything, but it still sounds bad. I`m not sure if its me or the cello.

All strings are great and really classy, but I chose the violin (as a safety net), after this, I`ll move on to be a great violist! Muahahahah! (and learn how to read alto clef ;`( )

I`m scared of the cello cos there was this Korean (or Japanese?) horror movie, called The Cello, where strange things start happening with this cello around. Like, a dead body was stuffed in a cello case or something.

I have a friend in band (where I play clarinet) who lets me try out her double bass! Groovy!

Marian,

That sounds wierd. So you cant get the cello in tune?

Re: "to the violinist. im 15 and ive been playing the violin for a year now. i sometimes play the cello at school, but very novicely.how so you get used to the sound not being directly in your ear? lol"

First, never "lol" at your own jokes. Didn`t your mother tell you that? Second, you ought to consider the ear relief an advantage. When I play in orchestra and I want to be sure I`m executing certain passages perfectly in tune, I simply put my ear close to the cello. It isn`t a difficult thing to do.

Re: "forget about my other post, i can read the notes now.
one thng, how do i know how far to space my fingers?"

It`s telling that the single exposition of cello fingering on this entire five-page thread limits itself to open position, which probably accounts for the curious assertions of the supposed relative ease of playing cello. The cello hand spans a minor third (a major third with extension) per string, and since the cello`s strings are tuned in perfect fifths, as soon as you leave open position you gots a problem, boys and girls. The violin hand, in contradistinction, spans a perfect fourth (an augmented fourth with extension). Since both the cello hand and the violin hand have four fingers (not counting the thumb we keep behind the neck), this means that the cello hand is more secure chromatically within a single position, but, unfortunately, it also means that the cello hand, unlike the violin hand, will rarely stay in a single position for long. The problem with open position isn`t just that it only goes so high; it`s also, and MAINLY, that open notes except in certain situations need generally to be avoided.

As to your question, "how do i [sic] know how far to space my fingers?", you space your fingers such that they play the appropriate pitches, and you tell which are the appropriate pitches by LISTENING carefully. The higher up the neck you go, the shorter the distance per given interval, and you`ll need to be shifting all over hell. If you try to play the cello mechanically, you`ll immediately find yourself in deep trouble.

hi rita
take a look at your bow and fingers when you hear a squeak: are you accidently touching more than one string? Try to make sure that you`re only touching the one you want to sound. Also, is your bow on more than one string? This causes the string to vibrate, which is of course what we want, but if you`re on more than one string you`ll get two sounds because two strings are vibrating and if your finger is touching but not pushing one of them, you`re disrupting the vibration just enough to get a sound: the squeal.
Other reasons why might be that you`re playing too close to the bridge-try to stay right in the middle between the bridge and the end of the finger board.